1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to apparel. More specifically, the apparel is convertible from loose fitting clothing within which a person may undress and dress, while still maintaining modesty in a public place, into fashionable attire which is well fitted for general activities. Most preferably, the apparel also provides the additional functions of a bathing robe.
2. Description of the Related Art
Beaches and lake shores provide nearly ideal recreation for mankind. Diverse activities are available for a wide variety of people. Many will participate in water sports such as swimming, water skiing, and scuba diving. Others will use the shoreline as an access to the waters for fishing and boating. With the many different activities available, beaches, lake shores, river fronts and other large bodies of water are frequented by millions of people around the world each day. Often, multiple activities will be planned, so an individual will spend time upon the water, in the water, and along the shoreline, and may alternate between each more than once throughout the course of a day.
Unfortunately, the different activities generally require different clothing, and few of these locations have adequate facilities for persons wishing to change their attire. Frequently, a person may find themselves changing in an automobile, an outhouse, or even the woods. Such situations are frustrating at best, and may result in a person unintentionally or accidentally exposing themselves to others. Worse, irritating plants such as poison ivy that are kept out of public areas may thrive adjacent thereto, and a person attempting to change clothes may stumble right into a patch.
Where public facilities are provided, they are often, out of necessity, formed from concrete floors and walls. Concrete withstands heavy daily traffic of water, sand and other compounds for many years, and it is also quite easy to clean and maintain. Nevertheless, between cleaning the concrete provides a harbor for many germs and dirt, and can be quite unpleasant, particularly in congested areas. As a result, many people will forego changing in these public shelters and instead dress in other areas.
To provide a better alternative, Boryszewski in U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,611 illustrates a simple beach toga formed from two terry cloth towels, the teachings incorporated herein by reference. The towels are adapted to be suspended from a person's shoulders, and allow enough space for the person to change clothing. Furthermore, the terry cloth material is quite absorbent, and provides the dual function of drying. In spite of the improvements to the art made by Boryszewski, there still remain several drawbacks. For example, where a person would only pack a single towel, the Boryszewski beach toga requires two. Furthermore, the towels have to be fitted with fasteners, which tend to decrease the desirability of the resulting towel for it's primary applications of comfortably drying and also comfortably supporting a person upon sand or grass waterfronts.
More recently, Arnold, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,083 also incorporated herein by reference, discloses a changing robe designed for use at public beaches, for changing into and out of swimming gear. Like the Boryszewski toga, the Arnold robe is preferably made from terry cloth for absorbency and comfort, and serves the additional functions of drying and shielding a person from wind. Also like Boryszewski, the Arnold robe is quite large, to best address the changing function. Unfortunately, the Arnold robe is not well suited for activities other than the changing and shelter aforementioned, due to the robe interfering with the activity. For example, the robe will hang out enough to accidentally drop into or against a plate or food placed upon a table, making the robe undesirable during meal times, and an obstacle during clean-up thereafter. If the person participates in fishing, the robe hangs loosely enough to easily become snagged in fishing hooks and will tend to brush up against wet objects and fish. Therefore, during a single outing at the beach, a person might be required to put on and remove the Arnold robe many times if the person participates in more than swimming. Furthermore, the robe offers no form or fit, and so is aesthetically unpleasant and would not be desired to be worn except during changing of clothes.